Unseen Magic

Hello!! I'm back with one more Halloween project. I am itching to jump into Christmas creating but wanted to sneak in one more spooky project. I've had a paper mache witch's hat sitting on my table waiting for inspiration to strike. When I found some witch boots that I had cut from Tim Holtz's Ice Skate die and knew just where this hat was going to go. 

I began by painting the paper mache hat with black acrylic paint and let dry. I wanted a worn and vintage look so started playing with different inks and mediums until I achieved the look I wanted. I randomly sprayed Black Soot Distress Oxide Spray around the hat and lightly spritzed with water. Once dry I blended in Walnut Stain Distress Crayon and smudged with a damp finger. With a soft brush, I blended in umber artisan powder. 

Around the bottom of the hat, I added a band of 3D Mini Scallop Impresslits cut from aluminum tape and painted black. 

I then painted and distressed one of the larger bases from the Vignette Finial Set the same as the hat. I had previously planned to use this base in another project and had glued a wooden piece to it. I used Distress Collage Medium and let me tell you that stuff sticks!! There was no getting the two pieces apart once dry!! 

Here is the finished base with the Quote Token attached using distressed Craft Thread. 

I then altered one of the larger sized Corked Vials. I began by pouncing on Mushroom and Smolder Alcohol Inks. Once those were dry I used my finger to randomly apply Distress Collage Medium and blended in some artisan powder to give it a dusty look. 

I finished it off with a bit of the leftover Craft Thread and added a poison label from the Halloween Ephemera set. 

I then altered a couple of Mini Pumpkins with Mushroom and Smolder Alcohol Inks. 

The witch of the hour is from last year's Framed Portraits Halloween. I took her out of the black frame and layered her under one of this year's Baseboards and Layers frames and topped it off with a Baroque frame. 

Now for my favorite part!! 

To make your boot begin by cutting out one or more of the Ice Skates. 

Cut along the white lines, adding a notch in the heel for extra detail. 

Cover boots with a layer of Distress Crazing Medium and allow to air dry. Once dry distress boots using Walnut Stain Distress Crayon and umber artisan powder. 

Cut a length of Craft Thread and distress using the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon. 

To thread the boots I like to start at the back pull needle thru until even lengths are on front and back. Then thread thru every other hole and leave the remaining tail at the top of the boot. Move the needle to the other end of the thread and thread the remaining holes. Tie a bow in the remaining tails at the top of the boot. 

I also added a bit of brown lace to the top of this boot. 

To help the text pop on the Quote Tokens add some Picket Fence Distress Crayon to the debossed areas, wipe away the excess crayon using a paper towel. 

the handle of the Broomstick has a length of distressed Craft Thread wrapped around it. 

To finish off your witch's hat adhere all pieces to the brim. I added a bit of dried moss to mine as filler. Or who knows maybe it's a secret witchy ingredient? Oh and I topped the hat off with a Bitty Bat. 

I had a lot of fun making this witchy headwear.

I am linking up to Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. 

What Halloween and Fall projects are you working on? Or have you jumped headfirst into Christmas?

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee 

The Midnight Apothecarist

Hello!! I just had to make another pair of witch boots from Tim Holtz's Ice Skates die from Sizzix. I stepped out of my normal whimsical Halloween style with this Etcetera Tag but really wanted to make a slightly more spooky piece for these boots. 

Begin prepping a small Etcetera Tag measuring 5 1/2" x 10". Adhere black Kraft-Stock with Distress Collage Medium. Randomly sand and then ink with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. 

Cut piece of Worn Wallpaper Halloween to size. Distress edges and randomly and bend wallpapaer to allow the black background to peek thru. Blend Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and messy stitch around the edges. Adhere the Worn Wallpaper layer using Distress Collage Medium. 

Don't adhere the bent corners to give the piece more dimension. 

Distress the edges of ephemera using the Paper Distresser tool and then ink with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Some of the labels are from the Ephemera Halloween pack and some are cut from Paper Stash Halloween. 

Heat emboss Star Adornments with Rocky Road Baked Texture. Allow stars to cool and then add Walnut Stain Distress Crayon. 

Prepare photo taken from Idea-ology Framed Portraits Halloween. Distress and ink edges using Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Tear a piece of linen to size to frame photo and layer on a piece of sanded Kraft-Stock. Messy Stitch around photo. Finish off with Halloween Clippings Stickers.  

Cut a pair of Ice Skates from black cardstock adhered to a piece of Mixed Media paper. 

Cut along white lines shown for your witch boot. Cut a notch in the heel for extra detail. 

Cover boots with a layer of Distress Crazing Medium and allow to air dry. Once boots have dried rub Prima Umber Artisan Powder into the cracks and wipe away excess. Cut a length of Eclectic Elements Craft Thread and run thru a paper towel to dampen. Randomly run Walnut Stain Distress Crayon along the length of Craft Thread. With needle thread boots by beginning at back of boot and pulling thread thru til even lengths are on front and back. Thread thru every other hole and leave remaining tale at top of boot. Move needle to other end of thread and thread remaing holes on boot. Tie the remaining tales at top of boot. 

Layer ephemera behind photo and adhere to tag. Adhere Stars randomly around the tag using Distress Collage Medium which works perfectly on metal pieces. To top off the tag run a piece of black Kraft-Stock thru Botanical 3D Texture Fade. Cut to size and adhere to hole reniforcer. Once dry sand edge and ink with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Adhere reinforcer to tag. 

Attach boots to tag using foam squares for added dimension. 

I really enjoyed working with some darker colors and a little bit spookier of a theme on this piece. I have one maybe two more Halloween projects planned and then I think it's time to start thinking about Christmas!! What is your favorite holiday to create for?

As always thanks for stopping by.

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee 

Whimsical Witch Boots

Hello!! Can you believe it's already time to start dreaming up Halloween projects? While mindlessly scrolling Pinterest a few weeks ago I saw a pair of witch boots made from Tim Holtz's Ice Skate die from Sizzix. I thought it was a great way to get more use out of an already great die. As I started cutting and experimenting I got to thinking about what a vintage witch boot would look like and decided to add a couple more simple cuts to change it up just a little. 

 

Start by layering a piece of mixed media paper or mat board with double-sided adhesive sheet and top off with a black piece of Kraft-Stock. 

Run layered papers thru die cut machine. Remember to put the right side of the paper down on the die. 

Cut along the lines drawn in white. 

Here is a closeup of the detail in the heel. When cutting off the top of the boot an angle be sure wherever your top hole lands it is left intact to hold your shoelace. 

Sand the edges of the boots and blend with Black Soot Distress Ink. 

Prepare Seam Binding Ribbon, Thread, and Ricrac by dying with Distress Inks and Oxides. Here is a super simple video showing my process. This is my very first video 😬. It was a learning process, but I hope to bring more technique videos your way. 

From the back of the boot use the Craft Pick to prepare the holes for the shoelace. Begin by bringing needle from back to front. Pull the thread so that there are even amounts on either side of the boot. Thread every other hole and leave the remaing thread at top of boot. Thread needle with other end of the thread. Bring thread up and over to top of the boot and thread remaining holes. When you reach the top tie off remaining tails in a double knot and tie a bow. 

Run a length of double-sided adhesive along top edge on the backside of the boot. Gather and adhere dyed seam ribbon binding. 

Adhere dyed ricrac with Distress Collage Medium.

Trim Quote Chip to size to fit the top of the Display Hanger. Sand and ink with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

Adhere the Quote Chip to the Display Hanger with double-sided red tape. Tie a bow around the top of the hanger. 

Prepare background layers. Begin by cutting a piece of the beautifully flocked polka dot paper from the Halloween Paper Stash. Trim with pinking shears for decorative edging. Rip a piece of Eclectic Elements Provisions to size. Cut top layer from Worn Wallpaper Halloween. 

Cut labels from patterned paper in the Halloween Paper Stash. Tear a strip from Multi Haunted Materialize. Messy stitch all layers together. Adhere boots to background and clip on Display Hanger. 

I don't know about you but I am ready to start stocking up on all that Halloween candy. For the trick or treaters of course!! 

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee